CALGARY — The Globe and Mail says it will offer a "trimmer" product starting Friday to make handling easier for readers and save money on newsprint costs.

Publisher and CEO Phillip Crawley says the Toronto-based company will save about $1 million per year on newsprint as it cuts the width of its printed product to 10 inches (25.4 centimetres) from the current 11 inches (28 centimetres). He says the company spent $8.2 million on newsprint in its last fiscal year. The savings therefore amount to about 12%.

He says a similar slimming down of the newspaper from 12 inches in 2010 proved popular with readers.

The Globe and Mail's Publisher and CEO, Phillip Crawley, and former Editor-in-Chief, John Stackhouse review the 2010 redesigned Globe and Mail. (CNW Group/Globe and Mail)

The revamp comes at a tumultuous time for newspapers. On Monday, Postmedia and Torstar announced they will trade 42 newspaper titles, mainly in Ontario, and close most of them, citing a lack of advertising revenue.

The Globe's redesign includes putting Monday to Thursday content in two sections instead of four, although Crawley says the amount of space for news stories will remain the same. Friday's newspaper will include a newly minted national real estate section.

He says online data collected by Sophi, the Globe's proprietary data analytics tool, have influenced the redesign, just as it is influencing daily editorial and advertising decisions.

A subsidiary of the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star's owner Torstar holds investments in The Canadian Press as part of a joint agreement with the parent company of Montreal's La Presse.